A Jewish Avenger, a Timely Legend

[Dave Monroe]

>From Alisa Solomon, "A Jewish Avenger, a Timely
Legend," NY Times, Sunday, April 7th, 2002 ...

Last summer, David Fishelson was searching for plays
that his new company, the Manhattan Ensemble Theater,
might stage in 2002. He came upon H. Leivick's Yiddish
classic, "The Golem," while newspapers and television
news were rife with reports of the escalating
Palestinian intifada and of Israel's military response
to it. "The Golem" seemed painfully apt: its central
concern is the self-destructive consequence of Jews
resorting to violence to defend themselves.

[...]

Set in Prague in the 16th century on the eve of
Passover, "The Golem" is based on Yiddish legends of
mystical powers and supernatural beings. It tells the
story of a rabbi (Robert Prosky plays the role in the
current production) who breathes life into a clay
figure (Joseph McKenna portrays the title character)
to create a rescuer for a beleaguered Jewish
community.

This golem — mighty, invincible, able to bring people
to their knees with just his icy stare — has the
mission of avenging Jews against the anti-Semitic
slurs and assaults of the surrounding community,
particularly as Passover approaches and Christian
extremists accuse Jews of ritually slaughtering
gentile babies and using their blood to make matzo. 

The golem wreaks fierce retribution and the Jews
proclaim him a hero. But he gets carried away. He goes
on a rampage, spilling the blood of those he was meant
to protect.

[...]

If the play seems especially vital now, it is not only
because some Jews continue to yearn for messianic
redemption. It is also because the current generation
has a different relationship with the idea of Jewish
power than their grandparents, and thus the ability to
consider the play's challenging themes anew. A century
ago, the fantasy of a brawny and indestructible
protector provided a compelling answer to Jewish
vulnerability — even beyond the realm of the theater.
Most famously, perhaps, the early Zionist leader Max
Nordau called for a "Muscle Jew" to rise up in place
of the stooped and feeble Jewish men of the shtetl. 

But American Jews in the 21st century live for the
most part in comfort and security, without fear of
pogroms or blood libels. Scholars and writers of this
generation — for instance, the political essayist
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz or the postmodern Talmudist
Daniel Boyarin — have been able to step back from the
earlier need for a "Muscle Jew" and question the
consequences of that course, and even whether it was
the only option. It's impossible to look at "The
Golem" today without bringing the full range of such
critical insights to the drama. 

While Israelis, on the other hand, exist amid
ever-mounting fears of attack, any effort to find an
analogy in "The Golem" to the current situation
requires one to notice that, unlike the Jew-haters of
16th-century Prague, the Palestinians have expressed
genuine grievances. Taking the logic further, one
confronts the most troubling question that some
Israelis and American Jews are beginning to raise: Has
the militarily mighty Jewish state become a golem for
the 21st century, promising protection but leading to
peril?

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/07/arts/theater/07SOLO.html?ex=1019187460&ei=1&en=27037b8840a468a8

And speaking of Jewish Avengers, Michael Chabon has
apparently scored both a movie (dir. Sydney Pollack?)
AND a comic book deal (DC Comics) for The Adventures
of Kavalier and Clay ...

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